Lately I’ve been relying on the Urban Dictionary to help me understand some new phrases that are making their way into conversation.
Someone who used to be “cool” is now “chill.”
“Making out” has taken on a ruder connotation – “freak.”
A “Fly Boy” was a young ladies term of endearment for her Air Force boyfriend in World War II, now it means the guy is a “playa.”
And a good looking lady is now considered “bootylicious.”
To put this whole lesson into context, a young guy looking to meet a good looking lady might post a personal ad that reads something like this:
Chill 21 year old fly boy looking to get his freak on with a bootylicious girl 21+.
Hearing people talk like this makes me cringe, and I can’t imagine what it’s doing to my grade school English teacher Sister Myrtle Mae.
Besides congratulating the sales team for “crushing it” and asking your office mate, “sup?” we’ve also become acronymous in the way we speak and write.
A recent Curb Your Enthusiasm episode poked fun of one of the show’s characters who would say “LOL” instead of actually laughing out loud. I often find myself on the other end of a text message where someone will type “ROTFL.” I don’t think that person is really rolling on the floor laughing, but I could be wrong.
As we perpetuate these phrases and short-codes we should pat ourselves on the back for helping degrade the English language even more. The King is dead and so is his English and I don’t think he’s going to BRB.
TTYS